What the FBI Doesn’t Want You To Know About Its “Secret” Surveillance Techniques

The FBI had to rewrite the book on its domestic surveillance activities in the wake of last Januaryâslandmark Supreme Court decision in United States v. Jones. In Jones, a unanimous court held that federal agents must get a warrant to attach a GPS device to a car to track a suspect for long periods of time. But if you want to see the two memos describing how the FBI has reacted to Jones â and the new surveillance techniques the FBI is using beyond GPS trackers â youâre out of luck. The FBI says that information is âprivate and confidential.â

Yes, now that the Supreme Court ruled the government must get a warrant to use its previous go-to surveillance technique, it has now apparently decided that itâs easier to just keep everything secret. The ACLU requested the memos under the Freedom of Information Act â whichÂ you can see FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann waving around in public hereÂ â and the FBI redacted them almost entirely.

Though the FBI wonât release the memos, we do have some information from other sources on the surveillance techniques federal agents are already using. And for the most part the FBI contends they do not need a warrant, and one wonders, given the public nature of this information, why they are officially claiming its “secret.”

Cell Phone Data Requests

Tellingly, in U.S. v. Jones, after the US government lost its case in the Supreme Court with the GPS device, it went right back to the district court and asserted it could get Jonesâ cell phone site location data without a warrant. EFF has long argued cell location data, which can map your precise location for days or weeks at a time, is highly personal, and should require a warrant from a judge.

In July 2012, theÂ New York Times reportedÂ that federal, state, and local law enforcement officials had requested all kinds of cell phone data, including mappings of suspectsâ locations, a staggering 1.3 million times in the previous year. Worse, the real number was âalmost certainly much higher” given they often request multiple peopleâs data with one request. The FBI also employs highly controversial âtower dumpsâ where they get the location information on everyone within a particular radius, potentially violating the privacy of thousands of innocent people with one request.

Stingray Interceptors

In late 2012, we reported onÂ the secretive new device the FBI has been increasingly using for surveillanceÂ known as a IMSI catcher, or âStingray.â A Stingray acts as a fake cell phone tower and locks onto all devices in a certain area to find a cell phoneâs location, or perhaps even intercept phone calls and texts. Given it potentially sucks up thousands of innocent personsâ data, we called it an âunconstitutional, all you can eat data buffet.â

The FBI has gone to great lengths to keep this technology secret, even going as far as refusing to tell judges its full range of capabilities. Recently,Â documents obtained by EPIC PrivacyÂ through a FOIA request shed more light on the devices.

License Plate Readers

In cities across the country, local police departments and other law enforcement agencies are installing automated license plate readers that create databases of location information about individual cars (and their drivers). These readers can be mounted by the side of a busy road, scanning every car that rolls by, or on the dash of a police car, allowing officers to drive through and scan all the plates in a parking lot.

On top of all this, the FBI is one of just a few dozen public agencies thatÂ has an authorization to fly a droneÂ in the U.S. There is no evidence at this time that they are actively pursuing or using a specific device. But we do know that other branches of the federal government, namely the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are conducting drone surveillance along the U.S. border, and have at least occasionally loaned these capabilities to other departments.Â EFF has sued DHS for more information about that program, but in the meantime, as with the redacted documents, information about their use in surveillance remains frustratingly opaque.

Secret LawThis is just the latest example of the Obama administration trying to interpret public laws in secret without adequately informing its citizens. Currently, EFF isÂ suing the governmentÂ for its secret interpretation of the Patriot Act Section 215, andÂ for secret FISA court opinionsÂ that could shed light on the NSA warrantless wiretapping program. In addition, the ACLU has sued the Obama administration for its legal opinionÂ stating it can kill US citizensÂ overseas, away from the battlefield.

Of course, law enforcement needs the ability to conduct investigations. But explaining to the public how it generally conducts surveillance puts no one in danger, and compromises no investigations. After all, criminals have known the FBI has been able to wiretap phones with a warrant for decades and it hasnât stopped them from using wiretaps to catch them.

This information is vital to know if law enforcement is complying with the law and constitution. As weâve seen with GPS devices, and we are now seeing with cell phone tracking and the use of Stingrays, law enforcement will push the limits of their authority â and sometimes overstep it â if they are not kept in check by an informed public.Related Cases:US v. Jones

They might be able to kill us any time, but we’ll just kill them back.

sixpack

Old school rule #1…ALL COPS LIE.
Old school rule #2…Police ar not here to help you. When in doubt, see rule #1.

ncjoe

If it such a big damn secret, how do you know about it? Idiot.

Jc

It’s called FOIA and court idiot. When the pigs want to use our taxes against us, you sue. Now go outside and play…

Manwhoiswideawake

the shill is back.do not pay any attention to ncjoe.he is a shill and a paid one at that.

CG

Lawsuits no longer work. When was the last one against the government, that the American people actually won? Our courts are run by the same foreign terrorists who control our politicians, and top military brass.

G-DAWG

the fix is beyond the ballot box. Semper Fi.

Zebra

well boys, we might have to go back to riding horses and walking.

See you on the front lines

Johnny Yuma

It’s all been recorded in the bible for all to read.
We have been warned.

Prepare or flee. your choice.

Zebra

The antichrist will rule the NWO once america has been neutralized. get ready for global government and a chip injected under your skin for their banking schemes and cashless society.

Total enslavement is coming to the world.

Read Revelation. No man will be able to buy or sell without the mark of antichrist.
If you don’t have the chip you are thought of as a neanderthal, a stupid non-progressive.
After a short time the chip will be mandatory not optional. Take the chip or die.
Read the warning in Revelation about those who willingly take the mark/chip.

For the first time in history this prophecy is now possible.

We are truly in the final stage of history before christ’s return.

Anonymous

Amen, Praise God.

Zebra

Sadly, most people today don’t have a clue what’s coming.
They don’t think history repeats itself and don’t believe our government could do them harm.

They spend their time listening to oprah and watching american idle. YES IDLE. Their minds are IDLE to what’s coming.

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